We all know there's nothing like a new mount (or other piece of astro equipment) to get you all psyched up for doing some viewing. Well, I found that tearing down, cleaning and regreasing my Celestron ASGT mount had a similar, if lesser, effect. I'm raring to go now... too bad the weather hasn't cooperated. So there's a curse to refurbished equipment, too, I guess.

I was so pleased with how the that job went, though, that I took out an old CG5 I've got but haven't used for years and did the same to it and now, if the sky ever clears up, I'll use my 120ST on it. Tearing down both mounts in the space of a couple days did drive home not only how similar, nearly identical, they are in design, but also how much the fit and finish of the internals has improved. They're still nowhere near an Astro-Physics mount, much less a Losmandy, but, for example, what was a fairly rough worm gear is, in the newer mount, a pretty smooth, polished piece. There has been progress.